Hundreds of schools could get powers to discriminate against middle-class
pupils under controversial changes to admissions rules, it has emerged.

The Government’s flagship academies and free schools may be able to prioritise children from the poorest backgrounds when awarding places as part of reforms to be introduced later this year.

The move is designed to give the most deprived pupils access to popular schools amid fears they are being edged out in the race for the most sought-after places.

Figures show academies, which are independent of local council control, are already receiving as many as 11 applications for every spare desk.

But the disclosure is likely to prompt allegations that the Coalition is attempting to “socially engineer” secondary school admissions and lead to fresh fears that pupils from relatively well-off backgrounds will miss out on places at the best schools.

Ministers have already said that schools will be granted an extra £430 for each deprived child admitted next year in an attempt to close the gap between rich and poor pupils.

The announcement came as around 540,000 children prepared to find out on today which secondary school they will get into this September.

Figures suggest as many as one-in-six across pupils in England could miss out on their first choice school. The rejection rate will rise as high as four-in-10 in parts of London where parents face the stiffest competition for places.

Currently, many middle-class parents attempt to buy homes in the catchment areas of the most popular secondary schools to secure places for their sons or daughters. In the capital, property prices can be inflated by as much as £400,000 close to the best schools.

But it is feared the practice effectively prices the poor out of top comprehensives.

Now the Coalition has announced it will consult over changes to the school admissions code in England, giving hundreds of head teachers the freedom to prioritise deprived children when places are oversubscribed. Changes will also be made to the code to make it easier for parents and schools to understand.

It would give them the freedom to admit pupils eligible for free school meals – those whose parents earn less than £16,000 – before considering most other children. Currently, only pupils with special needs, children in the care of local councils and siblings can be given similar priority.

The power would be extended to all academies and free schools. Currently, some 371 secondary schools in England are academies – one-in-10 – and there are plans to open dozens of new free schools run by parents’ groups and teachers in September.

But the move is likely to prove hugely controversial among many parents.

It comes just days after The Daily Telegraph reported that some schools in more than a third of council areas are already selecting low-ability students or using admissions “lotteries” in a bid to break the middle-class stranglehold on the most sought-after places.

Margaret Morrissey, of the campaign group Parents Outloud, said middle-class families were being “penalised because of political correctness”.

Meanwhile, figures being published today are likely to show as many as one-in-six children nationally will fail to get into their preferred school in September.

In Manchester and Essex some 17 per cent of 11-year-olds will miss out on their first preference. The rejection rate reaches as high as 40 per cent in the London borough of Westminster.

But in other areas including Leicestershire, the East Riding, Herefordshire and Hartlepool almost all pupils will get into their first choice school.